Unanswerable Questions
by Van Bishup
Summary: Nothing is born evil. Once apon a time, Cedric and Phobos were teenagers with no cares at all. This is one of those stories. Phobos has been dreaming about this girl and he can't forget about her. Cedric is curious. First Story!


Unanswerable Questions 

This story takes place in the childhood of Cedric and Phobos. Prince Phobos is getting older. He does not like to do the things that he used to. The fifteen-year-old prince is baffling his thirteen-year-old friend and future advisor, Cedric. He is wondering about his friend's new frame of mind.

I do not own any of these characters except the following

Cedric's father, Salazar

The Cook, Miss Puget

The Whisperer, Bluebells (Annon)

The Whisperer, Ivy (Nathon)

The Whisperer, Lilly of the Valley (Einn)

Chapter One

Phobos stared moodily out across the gardens of the palace. All their beauty and splendor meant nothing to him right now. He felt permanently glum. He'd dreamed of _her_ again. That beautiful creature that haunted his dreams. Every night now, for three months, he had dreamt of her. Every time, she was doing something different. Last night, he had seen her with beautiful and delicate wings. He couldn't remember what she looked like. It lingered at the edge of his imagination. He could almost see her now, almost. Then, the soft foot steps behind him distracted him and he lost it. He did not turn to look at whoever it was. _Maybe if I ignore them, they'll go away_, he thought to himself. He did not want to see anyone. He just wanted to sit here and think about her. A flash of golden blond hair told him who had just collapsed down beside him. "Hi, Cedric." He said flatly. The boy looked up at him and smiled. Cedric was breathing hard and his cheeks were flushed, "Hey! What's up?" he asked. Phobos sighed. The enthusiastic boy was the last person that he wanted to see at the moment. He was not going to speak to him. The other blond boy was undaunted by his moody silence, "I ran here from my house," he said, "I had just sat signing forms for hours, then dad wanted to have another lesson." Cedric's eye's glittered, "So I ran away to play with you." He said dramatically.

"Salazar won't be happy." Phobos said.

"He'll be furious!" Cedric said with obvious satisfaction.

"You should go back home." Phobos said half-heartedly. Cedric's enthusiasm was infectious. He was even starting to smile a little.

"Why? Why should I go now?" Cedric asked. He poked Phobos in the back of the head, "I just got here."

"Because I want you to." Phobos said, putting on his regal air and commanding attitude.

Cedric's grin vanished, replaced with a perfectly calm expression. His eyes hardened. Phobos always found it unnerving how fast the boy could change expressions and moods. He wished sometimes that Cedric would only have one mood a day instead of sixty or seventy.

"Of course, My Lord," he said quietly, in perfect imitation of his father, Salazar, but ruined the imitation by breaking into a grin, "After we play a little?" He asked hopefully.

"What do you have in mind?" Phobos asked resignedly. He knew that he would have had to call in the Palace Guard to get rid of Cedric now.

"A swim." Cedric said.

"The pool's being cleaned." Phobos said, glad for a chance to spoil Cedric's plans. Maybe the golden blond boy would go away.

However, Cedric just rolled his eyes, "Follow me."

Cedric grabbed Phobos' hand and dragged the unwilling Prince after him.

"Don't we need our swim wear?" Phobos asked.

"Dad's probably already at the Palace. If he catches me, I'll be grounded for years."

"But…" Phobos began. He knew that Salazar was at the Palace, and that he would take Cedric back with him, and Phobos could go back to thinking in peace.

"Don't ask questions!" Cedric said annoyedly, "Just come on!"

Phobos was not sure he liked this…

**Chapter 2**

Cedric navigated the paths in the garden just as well as the gardeners themselves. The Palace gardens were the ideal playground for the adventurous boy, and Phobos had spent the past few years learning the ways around the gardens with Cedric. The blond haired boy was racing ahead, looking back every now and then and yelling, "Come on!" or "Hurry up, Phobos." Cedric was not dragging him by the hand anymore, but something else seemed to keep Phobos from just walking down a different path and losing Cedric. He found that he could not seem to bear to disappoint the other boy. Cedric took a sharp turn into the bushes, and then Phobos knew where Cedric was going. He smirked. "Come on Phobos! You're slow!" Cedric called. Phobos raced after Cedric, treading their well worn path through the foliage. The exotically colored flowers were a blur as he ran past them, "I'll show you slow!" He yelled. Blood pounded in his ears as Cedric came into view. Cedric looked back and gave a cry of surprise. Phobos smiled and ran faster, closing the gap between him and Cedric. Cedric laughed and raced ahead, but Phobos was closer now and he could almost touch the others hair. Phobos was taller then Cedric and that height advantage gave him a few more centimeters in their race. He lunged, tackling the other to the ground. "Hey!" Phobos snickered. Cedric rolled over, pushing Phobos off him. Cedric gave him a dirty look and punched him in the ribs. Both looked around. The trees grew thick here and it was well shaded. Shade plants flourished and there was a large lake in the center. It was an irregular shaped lake and one of the few real natural lakes in the garden. A rocky ledge jutted out over it.

Phobos breathed in the air. This was one of his favorite spots.

Cedric stood up, "Well, here we are!"

"Hm?" Phobos had forgotten why they were here.

"You said that we'd go swimming, remember?" Cedric asked. He was already taking off his shoes and his elegant over robe was lying on an upraised tree root.

"Not here!" Phobos said appalled.

Cedric looked up. "Why not?"

"The Queen… Mother said that we must never swim in anything other than the pool."

"'For who knows what evile and foule thyngs may be lurkying in the depths,'" Cedric mimicked in the Queen's voice and accent, "'And do not go into the dungeon, for in it is thyngs not fit for young eyes.'"

A dull flush creep into Phobos' cheeks, "Stop." He ordered, "We shouldn't have done _that_ and we won't do _this_ either." He finished forcefully.

Cedric did not even answer him, but finished taking off his under robe and dove into the cool water. Phobos watched as green lighted filtered up from the depths, then flashed. Cedric had changed form, Phobos felt it. Cedric's serpentine form could stay under the water longer than his human form, and Cedric loved to swim deep and explore. One of his favorite games was diving for trinkets that Phobos would throw in the pool for him. In the clear water, Phobos could still see Cedric exploring the rocks and weeds on the bottom. Cedric looked as if he was having fun, but Phobos decided that this time he would not follow the younger boy's example. He was older and more mature and… "Are you coming in?" Cedric's voice called.

Phobos glared at red mask, "No."

"Why not?" Cedric pouted.

"Because this time, I'm going to do what I know is right." Phobos said superiorly, "You always get me in trouble. Always. I don't like it and I don't like _you_!" Phobos said venomously. He felt angry and frustrated and directed it at the serpentine boy in the water. "Don't you have anything better to do then nag me and run away from classes? _Don't you_?!"

Cedric's eyes narrowed and turned ice cold. His smile froze on his face and the water around him chilled, "Of course, _Your Highness_, but I choose to come to _you_." Cedric hissed. Phobos glared daggers at the serpent, "Leave my presence, Snake." Cedric looked shocked and stared dumbly at Phobos.

Phobos hated his staring, "I SAID LEAVE!" he shouted.

Instead, Cedric slithered out of the water and grabbed his under robe. There was a flash of green light and the boy, dressed in his under robe was walking toward him. Phobos glared past him, and then buried his head in his knees. He heard the grass crinkle as Cedric sat down next to him. Nether boy said anything, and the silence was deafening, finally Phobos looked at Cedric. The other boy was staring out across the lake.

"Cedric…"

The other looked back at Phobos.

"What's up?" Cedric asked.

"Nothing."

"No, this is something."

"Really Cedric, nothing."

Cedric cocked his head and gave Phobos his quizzical look. That mature expression looked very out of place on that face, and Phobos could not help but give a small smile.

"There!" Cedric exclaimed with satisfaction, "That's better. Now, tell the truth. What's up?"

"I…" Phobos faltered, "Not sure." He said lamely. Cedric, however, did not seem to take that as an answer and kept starring at him. "I don't know how to describe it, Cedric." Phobos said, lying back against the soft grass.

"Start at the beginning." Cedric chirped, plopping himself down on Phobos' stomach.

"There's no beginning, just… her."

"Her?"

Phobos nodded, "She's beautiful, and I've been dreaming of her forever."

"Who's the lucky girl?" Cedric asked.

"That's it, I don't know!" Phobos moaned.

"What does she look like then?"

Phobos blushed, "I don't know."

Cedric's grin split his face, "You don't know? You've been dreaming of her 'forever' and you don't know what she looks like?"

Phobos looked away, feeling stupid to have told all that to _Cedric_, of all people. The boy was the most unfeeling, insensible, block of… "I could help you remember." Cedric stated. Phobos looked startled down at the boy on his stomach, "What?"

"I said…"

"I know! How?"

"Runs in the family." Cedric said with obvious relish, "Memory reconstruction. I can block memories, create memories, and help people remember memories…"

He looked like he would like to continue, but Phobos cut him off at that point, "Okay."

Cedric sat up and crawled over to Phobos' head. He put his hands on Phobos' temples.

"Ready?"

Phobos nodded.

"Good." With that, Cedric shut his eyes and knit his brows together.

**Chapter 3**

The peaceful scenery of the lake faded, replaced by the blackness of the closed eyes. A wonderful feeling of serenity was shared between the two. Phobos relaxed and Cedric's concentrating look left his face. The blackness of sleep was abruptidly shattered by lasers of colored light that went on as far as the eye could see. The lights were beautiful, but each one only lasted as long as thought, for in truth the mind is not a long hallway of doors or book in a dusty library or anything that can be studied by scientists. The mind can only be explored by magic and a highly trained wizard or sorcerer. It is hard work to isolate one thought from the multitudes that are constantly flashing through the human mind, for even in sleep one is still thinking. How Cedric can manipulate thoughts and find them, I will never know. However I do know that he did and that this is what he found. The colors began to knit together to form a picture. It was sketchy at first, black and white, then shades of white, cream, and brown. The colors started to slowly grow to shades yellow and blue and green and all the others. Phobos caught his breath, stiffened, and then woke, pale and sweating.

**Chapter 4**

Cedric studied his friend with undisguised concern and excitement, "Well?" He asked, wanting to know what the prince had seen. Phobos did not seem to hear him and stared a crossed the lake like one haunted. Cedric crawled over to the prince and put his hands on the others shoulders, "Phobos?" He asked quietly next to the prince's ear.

"I heard you the first time." Phobos said in a whisper filled with awe.

Cedric found his friend's new tone of voice unsettling. "Well, then, what did you see? Describe her."

"I don't…" Phobos let the sentence trail off.

"You do, too! You do, too!" Cedric sang.

"She has… golden blond hair and…green eyes and beautiful wings. She wears a flowing robe-like dress and when she looks at me, she's smiling like she has always known me…" Phobos' eyes glimmered as he remembered.

"Hmmm, like this?" Cedric asked in a higher pitched voice.

Phobos looked around at Cedric and his eyes widened. Cedric smiled flirtily. He had to admit, he'd outdone himself. Phobos saw him as a slim, pale girl with delicate butterfly wings and long flowing blond hair. He studied Phobos through his almond shaped green eyes. He was still wearing his under robe, but that wouldn't take away from his shape.

"Well?" Cedric asked, eager to learn how well he had done.

Phobos stared dumbly at Cedric, but recovered himself enough to say, "You look… almost right."

Cedric raised both eyebrows, "What am I missing?"

Phobos tilted his head and studied him, "I don't know, but you're missing something."

Cedric sighed and with a flash was himself again, "Well at least you know what she looks like now."

Phobos nodded, "Yes, I guess."

Both of the boys lay back on the grass and stared at the sky.

**Epilogue **

Phobos surveyed his sister and her Guardian friends distastefully. He was tired. Nothing had worked right today, but he still had a chance. If he could defeat Elyon in this duel, her power and the throne would be his. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Gaurdian girls tense with their powers ready,

"NOW!" Will yelled.

The atempt was so pathtic and predictable that he could not help but laugh. "Poor, foolish girls." He teased mercilessly. He blasted them with a powerful white energy.

"This battle has nothing to do with you. It's a family matter, so get lost!" he shouted at them. They did not look like they believed him; he had not expected them to. He watched with some pleasure as the mud sucked the Guardian girls down into the Abyss.

"What's happening? We're getting sucked into…!" The water Gaurdian cried pointlessly.

Phobos crossed his arms and watched smugly, "An old friend is waiting for you with open arms, you'll see him soon… in the Abyss of Shadows!"

The earth Gaurdian spun and glared at him. Phobos looked back at her, sneering. But something about her sparked a memory. Of course he had seen her earlier today, after he had turned that unfaithful whisperer back to a flower, but this was a different feeling. Something about her eyes and her shape, even her hair reminded him of someone else. _My dreams_, he thought and he remembered back to when he was a teenager. That girl that he had dreamt of so often… yes, that was it, but was that her? "_No"_, a voice inside his head insisted, "_You look…almost right."_

"_What am I missing?_" Cedric's voice asked.

Phobos studied Cornelia a little longer, and then turned his attention back to Elyon. His sister was screaming and reaching for her friends. The earth Guardian sank below the mud and was lost from view. Phobos let himself smile. This moment was either a beginning or an ending, but he knew now the answer to one of his riddles.

And he couldn't believe it.


End file.
